Graystripe's Leadership
by Ivypool
Summary: We all know that Graystripe was the one who was taken from ThunderClan and made into a kittypet during the destruction on the forest. But what if Firestar had been taken instead? How will ThunderClan react to losing their leader? How will Graystripe cope with leading ThunderClan through their hardest times? And will Firestar ever make it back to ThunderClan? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Firestar stared in bewilderment at the two cats before him. He was just out on a hunting patrol with Thornclaw and Rainwhisker, when Squirrelpaw and Sorreltail had come trampling through the undergrowth, looking as if they were being chased by a pack of dogs... Wait, they better not be.

"What's wrong?" He demanded as he took in their trembling forms, ruffled fur, and fear-wide eyes. Sorreltail was struggling to breathe. "What happened?" He asked again, fur bristling as he itched to race into the forest and face any opponent they might have.

"It's Leafpaw!" Squirrelpaw managed to gasp out. "We found her, but the Twolegs are putting her inside a monster's belly. They're going to take her away; I know they are!" She was almost in hysterics.

"Leafpaw?" Firestar asked, stepping forward now. He was about to tell Squirrelpaw to lead him to Leafpaw when a new scent came to him. He paused, "You can come out, Brambleclaw." He called into the undergrowth.

The tabby stepped out into the open. "I'm looking for Squirrelpaw," he blinked as he saw the trembling apprentice in the middle of the path. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern.

"I found Leafpaw!" Squirrelpaw hissed. "The Twolegs are going to take her away! We have to rescue her _now,_ or I'll never find her again."

"Then we better get going." Firestar meowed. Beside him, he could sense his warriors getting ready for their upcoming challenge.

"We can't let the Twolegs take out cats if there is anything we can do to stop them," Rainwhisker growled, raising his chin in the air confidently.

"We should not give up without a fight," Thornclaw agreed with a nod.

Firestar turned to his daughter, "Lead us to Leafpaw." He told her and leaped up to follow her as she bounded through the forest. As he ran he felt a flare of pride for his Clan. His warriors were ready and able to take on Twolegs at the cost of rescuing an apprentice. They may not be able to save the entire forest from its slow destruction, but they can win this battle!

"Slow down!" He called as the break in the trees thinned up ahead. He ducked behind a bramble thicket and his warriors crouched beside him. Peering through the bush, he followed Squirrelpaw's gaze to where a Twoleg was carrying cages form a wooden nest into a monster's belly. Crouched so close, he could feel his daughter's ginger pelt trembling beside his own.

"She's already inside," Squirrelpaw whispered, her eyes tracking the Twoleg's every movement.

Firestar pulled back and turned to address his warriors. "Brambleclaw," he began, "you and I will distract the Twoleg. Thornclaw and Sorreltail, I want you two to climb into the monster. Rainwhisker, you can go in the nest and let those cats out."

"What about me?" Squirrelpaw asked, tail lashing.

"You're going to stay here," Firestar told her firmly, turning away to peer through the brambles again. "I need to you watch and yowl if you see more Twolegs coming." He tried to continue before she could protest, but Squirrelpaw stood abruptly, eyes flashing with her furious expression.

"I'm getting my sister out of that monster!" She demanded loudly.

Firestar glared equally back, not in the mood to deal with his daughter's arguments. They had bigger things to worry about than her role in the rescue mission! "You're staying here." He ordered firmly and turned away once more. He ignored her angry complaints and motioned for Brambleclaw to crouch down beside him. "Get ready..." He whispered, waiting for the Twoleg to step into the open with its next cage, "Now!"

They sprang forward at once, streaking across the open stretch of mud and leaping at the Twoleg. The creature howled with surprise as Firestar sank his claws deep into one of its hind legs, and Brambleclaw swiped dangerously at the other. It jumped, trying to shake the cats off, and dropped the cage in the process. The mesh sprang open, and a gray cat was freed.

The cat turned with a furious hiss, and Firestar recognized it to be Mistyfoot, the RiverClan deputy. Mistyfoot did not hesitate to join the battle. She leaped at the Twoleg and hurled herself at the creature's leg, gripping it as if climbing a tree. With three cats attacking now, the Twoleg screamed louder and began to jump and stomp in an effort to shake them off.

Firestar sheathed his claws and leaped away from the Twoleg as a fleshy paw came down to strike him. He narrowly escaped the blow, but twisted in the air and landed neatly in the mud. Out of the corner of his eye, Firestar saw his warriors sneaking into the monster. With a flare of anger, he saw the ginger pelt of his daughter disappear inside as well.

A couple Twolegs appeared around the side of the den, howling with concern. They thundered over, their heavy paws sending waves of mud splashing onto the warriors' pelts. Firestar snarled and turned on the closest one. He scored his claws down its leg and it leaped back in a mixture of pain and fear. Ears flattened and fur bristling, Firestar hissed at it dangerously.

Brambleclaw flashed past him as he went for the second Twoleg, latching onto its hind leg and biting without any hesitation. As they fought, Firestar caught sight of cats racing past him, fleeing into the safety of the forest. None of them were cats he recognized, only kittypets and rouges. Eventually, Rainwhisker joined the fight, having freed all of the cats from inside the den.

More Twolegs came into view, and Firestar began to panic. There were too many, he realized, staring up at their howling forms and flailing paws. What was taking them so long inside the monster?

"I'm going into the monster!" He yowled to Brambleclaw, who only nodded his understanding in the heat of battle. Firestar turned and bounded for the monster. He leaped up the edge of it and dove into its belly. Inside, he saw Sorreltail, Squirrelpaw, and Cloudtail all crouched anxiously around the last, unopened cage. Leafpaw was nowhere to be seen, so she must have escaped already.

"There's too many Twolegs!" He yowled at them. "What are you doing? Get to the trees!"

Cloudtail turned to him with panic, his tail fluffed. "Brightheart's still trapped." The white warrior told him, "Her cage won't open!"

Firestar shouldered his way in between the cats and began shoving them toward the entrance. "I'll take care of it! Move!"

Squirrelpaw and Sorreltail turned and fled from the monster, not needing to be told twice. Cloudtail however, was frozen as he stared with horror at his mate trapped in the cage.

"I'll keep her safe," Firestar growled and gave him a final shove from the monster. "I promise!" Without looking to see if Cloudtail had landed okay, he turned and gripped the catch in his jaws. He bit down so hard that he began to taste blood, but he continued to bite through the pain. Finally, the catch moved and the door of the cage sprang open.

The white-and-ginger warrior leaped over his head and dove out of the monster. As Firestar turned to bolt after her though, he was faced with a Twoleg. Brightheart ducked between its hind legs and slipped into the opening. Firestar however, was trapped. The Twoleg bared its teeth at him in an angry grin, then slammed the side of the monster shut.

Firestar was thrown into darkness, other than the small shaft of light streaming from the top of the monster's belly. The creature roared to life and began to move. Cages fell and toppled over in the movement, and he was struck in the side with no way out. Desperately, he climbed over them in an effort to see through the hole at the top. His paws slipped and his claws ached, but he finally managed to look out into freedom.

And there, he saw the last glimpse of his family and Clanmates racing after the monster with horror and shock in their eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

"Squirrelpaw! Squirrelpaw! Stop!"

Squirrelpaw hardly heard Brambleclaw's shout behind her. She pounded through the mud desperately, dodging the paws of reaching Twolegs and ignoring the rain that got in her eyes. Her breaths came in quick, panicked gasps as she tried desperately to keep the monster in sight. It only took heartbeats for it to speed out of sight though, turning a sharp corner and disappearing behind the trees on its way back to the Thunderpath.

Squirrelpaw collapsed into a sobbing heap, not caring the slightest about the mud that caked her pelt, nor the Twoleg that was coming up behind her.

"Stay away from her!" She heard Brambleclaw's bounding paw steps and his snarl as he lashed out at the Twoleg trying to grab her. She heard the Twoleg's angry huff, but it backed away. More pawsteps sounded then Leafpaw was at her side as well, nosing her to her paws.

"Come on," Leafpaw spoke softly. "We need to get back to camp."

Squirrelpaw allowed her sister to guide her swiftly back to the shelter of the trees with Brambleclaw attentively trotting behind them in case any other Twolegs tried to reach for them again. Back in the undergrowth they met with the rest of the patrol, deep enough in the forest that they could no longer see the clearing. Squirrelpaw looked around at them with a sense of hollowness.

Cloudtail and Brightheart were both soaked, their normally fluffy pelts were plastered to their sides miserably. Rainwhisker was nursing a bleeding claw, holding it carefully off the ground as he stared silently through the trees. Off to the side, Mistyfoot and a kittypet that Squirrelpaw guessed was Cody were both sat a respectful distance away. In front of them all, Thornclaw was pacing furiously, his pelt bristling with racing thoughts that threatened to spill. Every one of them was plastered and smeared with mud.

The golden warrior whipped around at the approach of Squirrelpaw, Leafpaw, and Brambleclaw. His eye flashed as he growled, "How could Firestar get taken by those Twolegs?" He lashed out at the undergrowth, claws scoring a leaf dangerously. "He fought like all of LionClan! They couldn't have caught him. He had to have-"

He broke off as he caught the crestfallen expressions of the two apprentices. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, his burst of anger fading into a feeling of regret. "It's all my fault. I was only a fox length away. If I had known, I would have- I could have helped. I could have saved him..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say in the disappearance of their leader.

Brambleclaw padded forward and met the warrior's gaze steadily, "It's no ones' fault." He told him. "None of could have stopped it. Firestar knew what he was doing and the cost that might come with it."

Mistyfoot dipped her head low, "I owe him my life," she murmured. "I thought we would never escape." She turned to look at Squirrelpaw, and spoke gratefully, "You saved us."

Squirrelpaw shook her head, and it took her a couple heartbeats to find her voice. "We all risked our lives," she managed. "And Firestar lead the way."

"Firestar's really gone, then?" Rainwhisker asked, seeming to emerge from his thoughts suddenly. His eyes were wide and unsure. "What will we tell the Clan?"

The cats stared silently around and at one another. No one wanted to return to camp and break the news to their Clanmates. None of them wanted to face the questions and grief, and the faces of Graystripe and Sandstorm when they realize their leader, Graystripe's best friend and Sandstorm's mate, was ripped away from his Clan.

"May StarClan help him," Thornclaw whispered, looking to the still raining sky above.

Several questions came to Squirrelpaw's mind, and she was sure the others had questions too. No one had the energy to voice them though. In the stifling silence that had engulfed them, Brambleclaw was the first one to stand.

"Come on," he meowed, his shoulders seeming to brace themselves for what was ahead of them. "We need to return to camp."

The cats stood up and began to follow him when the kittypet spoke for the first time. "Um," she meowed hesitantly, fearfully. "What about me?"

Squirrelpaw turned with the rest of the patrol to look at the plump tabby, as if all of them had just noticed her for the first time. Her eyes shifted from one warrior to another nervously, but she did not tremble.

"Who are you?" Sorreltail asked, sniffing the air. "A kittypet?" Rainwhisker's ears flattened and he began to growl threateningly.

Leafpaw stepped forward quickly, "This is Cody," She stood beside the kittypet's shoulder easily, "She stopped me from feeling sorry for myself, and made me believe we might be able to escape." Her voice wavered for a moment, but Leafpaw shook her head and turned to speak to her friend, "I don't think it's safe to travel the way back to the Twolegplace. Would you like to come to camp with us?"

Cody stared uncertainty at the warriors before her, and Squirrelpaw realized how they must look. Mud smeared, bleeding, and exhausted, with Thornclaw lashing out at leaves in anger. They must really be matching the appearance that the kittypet rumors seemed to paint about wild cats. It didn't help that Rainwhisker was still outright glaring at her.

"You'll be made welcome," Leafpaw meowed, turning to look at her Clanmates for support.

"Graystripe won't turn away any cat who's in trouble." Brambleclaw agreed, and Squirrelpaw saw a couple of the warriors wince at the mention of Graystripe. It should have been Firestar's name that they said, but now Graystripe was in charge of the Clan.

"I suppose we should be going then," Sorreltail sighed as the kittypet hesitantly agreed to come with them. She looked a little unhappy at letting Cody follow, but considering the recent events, she must be too tired to complain.

The group fell into a miserable silence as they padded back to Sunningrocks. The silence was only broken by Leafpaw's questions on why they weren't heading to camp, and Squirrelpaw explaining why they had to find shelter elsewhere. With the sound of the river murmuring up ahead, the patrol seemed to come to an agonizing crawl. No one on the patrol wanted to face their Clanmates.

As they emerged from the bracken to stand beside the river, Mistyfoot turned to the warriors with sad eyes. "I honor the warriors of ThunderClan for rescuing me. And I, along with the rest of RiverClan, will mourn the loss of Firestar with you." Her eyes seemed to cloud with grief for a moment, but she turned swiftly and dove into the water. With powerful churning legs, she reached the other side easily and pulled herself from the swirling water. Her tail tip flicked as she disappeared into the ferns of RiverClan territory.

The patrol turned and headed for the smooth boulders that lay downstream. Squirrelpaw half expected Leafpaw to be excited and launch forward to greet her Clanmates, but she knew that not even returning to her Clan would fix the terrible grief she felt. Squirrelpaw pressed her pelt against her sister's in silent support.

On the boulders, not many cats could be seen. Most of the cats were either out on hunting patrols or hunkered down under the rocks in an attempt to hide from the wind and rain. Graystripe however, was sitting atop the rocks and staring out over the swift-flowing river, apparently lost in his own thoughts. The rain had plastered his long fur to his body, and his normally healthy frame looked skinny and frail with hunger.

The breeze must have caught their scent though, as Graystripe turned his head suddenly. He leaped to his paws and bounded up the path to meet the patrol. His thundering paws created small splashes of water in the soaked grass. His tail shot straight in the air with the sight of Leafpaw, Cloudtail, and Brightheart. "You're all back!" he exclaimed, overcome with newly found excitement. "Firestar will be so happy to hear this wonderful news! This is exactly what he needed to brighten everyone's spirits."

More warriors of ThunderClan were emerging from their hiding spots to greet the patrol. Whitepaw shot forward to greet Cloudtail and Brightheart, her mother and father, with a cry of joy. Sandstorm bounded forward as well, nudging the other cats out of her way in an effort to reach Leafpaw. She began grooming her daughter at once, purring greatly.

"Brackenfur, see if you can find Firestar." Graystripe nodded to the warrior. "He must hear of this immediately."

Brackenfur got to his paws, but his fur bristled with unease. "Wasn't Firestar supposed to be on the patrol with Thornclaw and Rainwhisker?" He reminded the deputy hesitantly.

Graystripe seemed to pause with this realization, and he slowly turned to look back at the returning cats. "That's right." He said with a confused voice. "Thornclaw, where is Firestar?"

The golden warrior jumped slightly at being addressed, something very uncharacteristic of him. His mouth opened to speak, but he seemed unable to form words. The gathered Clan grew tense in the silence, and Graystripe repeated his words with narrowed eyes, "Where is Firestar?" His voice was strained and serious.

Leafpaw was the one to speak. Her voice was timid and broken, "The Twolegs caught him."

The stunned silence stretched on, and Squirrelpaw couldn't stand it. She forced herself to explain hoarsely, "They trapped him inside a monster's belly and took him away."

"He's... gone?" Graystripe stood there in the rain, seemingly frozen, and his eyes grew distant. "But that can't be right." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. His eyes hardened with stubborn determination. "Firestar is the leader of ThunderClan. He has to come back."

Brambleclaw lashed his tail in anger, "I should have stopped him." He heaved a breath and looked as though he wanted to pace. "We should have had a bigger patrol. If we had more warriors with us, this wouldn't have happened."

Sandstorm touched her tail to his shoulder gently, though her eyes were clouded with immense grief as well. "You have brought back three ThunderClan cats." She told him with a cracked voice, "Firestar would have done anything to return his cats to ThunderClan. He will find a way back."

Graystripe nodded numbly with her words, as if in an attempt to persuade himself that what she said was true. "Firestar will find a way back," he repeated to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Firestar awoke in a strange place. Blinking his eyes open, he found himself lying in a very small space. It was a lot like the cages he'd freed Brightheart from, he remembered blurrily, but instead of being completely mesh, only one of the walls had the thin bars. The rest of the walls were all a solid, grayish color. In the corner of his cage, he found a food and water dish. The water was filled to the top, but the food dish only had a few mouthfuls of dry pellets in it. Under him, he looked down to see an old blue cloth that held dark stains in it and smelled of other cats.

Slowly, he stood. His head was pounding with a headache, and he blinked in an attempt to make it go away. He stepped forward and peered out of the one wall he could see through. Between the bars, he saw that he was in a Twoleg's den. He found that his cage was high off the ground, but there were no other cages that he could see except for his own. He could only see smooth walls and the shiny floor, and several large Twoleg objects, but that was it.

He instinctively opened his jaws to taste the air. The Twoleg scent was overwhelming and mixed with his headache, it made him want to gag. Underneath it though, Firestar could smell that there was a fear scent and multiple different cat scents. They were all faint except for one, which was so strong, Firestar wouldn't be surprised if the cat was standing atop his cage right now.

"Hhh…" Firestar tried to speak, but a feeling of dizziness met him. "Hello…?" He tried again, his voice raspy. He sank to a sitting position and peered through the cage, resting his head tiredly on the wall as he did so.

"Oh!" A surprised voice mewed, and there was a thump as though the cat was leaping down from a high place. Firestar heard several pawsteps, and a face appeared through the bars. She crouched down in front of the cage, her eyes wide and friendly. "You're awake!" She chirped happily.

Firestar blinked at the she-cat. For the first heartbeat, he had sworn it was Leafpaw. The cat in front of him was a small brown tabby she-cat, with a white chest and paws and the same amber eyes. She looked startlingly similar to Leafpaw, except for the fact that she looked to be about the age of a young warrior, instead of a still-learning apprentice.

"Sorry if I startled you." The she-cat apologized, quickly shuffling backwards when Firestar did not respond. "I'm just surprised you're awake so early. Most cats are still sleeping pretty heavily after the dose you were given!"

"Dose?" Firestar echoed the unfamiliar word, then coughed to clear his throat. He looked briefly over his shoulder at the food and water and his stomach rumbled with his terrible hunger, but as the stench of the dry pellets reached him, he just wanted to gag again. There's no way he'd be eating kittypet food anytime soon, he told himself.

"Oh, yes." She nodded, and her gaze scanned his pelt curiously. "It's pain medication, you know? The Workfolk sometimes give it to wild cats or those who need lots of help instead just of a checkup."

She paused, and her ear twitched as she considered him. "It's odd though. Usually, the Workfolk take the wild cats into the holding room after an examination. You must have an owner then. But you don't look like a normal kittypet." Her eyes settled on a scar on his shoulder and moved onto his unusually thin frame. Firestar was grew very aware of his showing ribs under her gaze. Suddenly the kittypet food didn't sound all that bad.

"That's because I'm not." Firestar turned and shuffled over to the Twoleg dish. He sniffed the dry pellets with disgust but allowed himself to try a small mouthful. At first, he cringed as he crunched the hard food. The food was dry with a vague flavor that he could not identify, but he before he could complain too much, he found himself wolfing down the food. The hunger got the best of him, and he quickly found himself wolfing down all of the food in the dish and swallowing thickly.

The she-cat behind him made a startled noise. "Hey!" She pawed at the cage's bars in an attempt to get his attention, "Don't eat so quickly! Cats who eat too much on medication could get sick."

Firestar hardly paid any attention to her. He stared down at the empty bowl now. There hadn't been much in the bowl to begin with. The food he had been given hadn't even covered the bottom of the dish. But despite the queasy feeling that rose up to meet him already, he was still wishing for more.

"You should drink some water."

Firestar's ear twitched at her worried meow. He bent down and sniffed at the small dish of stale water. Unhappily, he allowed himself to lap up a few mouthfuls before turning back to the kittypet outside his cage.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"My name is Lilian." Her eyes showed her surprise. "I live here, at the vet."

"You live here?" Firestar asked, trying to disguise the fear that had struck him. _The vet._ The vet was where kittypets went to see the cutter. His tail twitched nervously as he thought about what the Twolegs could have done to him while he was unconscious on their 'medication.'

"Yep," Lilian confirmed with a short nod. "When sick cats come in and need a friend while they wait for their Housefolk to come to get them, the Workfolk will sometimes put them in here so I can keep them company." She eyed him again, "But you're not a house cat, are you?"

"No." Firestar said shortly, "I'm not."

"Then maybe you've been assigned Housefolk." Her mew brightened. "Sometimes when cats have been assigned Housefolk, or have been chosen, they are taken from the holding room and get put in here."

"The holding room?" Firestar asked, not understanding what she was meowing about. But he hardly heard her next words. His mind had moved onto his Clanmates. His groggy and clouded thoughts prevented him from making any comprehensible thoughts, but the faces of his starving Clanmates still swam in his mind. His headache began to pound again as he remembered Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw pounding after the racing monster that had stole him from ThunderClan.

"Yes," She nodded. "The holding room is a long room filled with cages up to the ceiling. It holds cats who don't have homes, or who those who need to stay here long term. I've only been allowed in there a few times though. Not all the other cats like me in there." She huffed, as though annoyed by this.

There was a silence between the two as Firestar settled down on the thin blanket on the bottom of his cage. He curled up facing away from the she-cat and tucked his tail tightly up around him. Maybe if he went to sleep StarClan would meet him…

"What's your name?" Lilian's voice broke the quiet, and Firestar's ear twitched with his own newly found annoyance.

"I am Firestar." He he told her simply.

"Firestar?" She repeated, as though testing the name on her tongue. "That's an odd name. I've never heard of it before."

Firestar hummed his agreement. He supposed it would sound weird to a kittypet. To his further annoyance however, the she-cat was not finished with their conversation.

"Where are you from?" She questioned. "You're not fed very well. Is it hard where you live?"

"I suppose you could say that." Firestar didn't turn to look at her. "It'll only be harder now that I'm gone."

He heard Lilian shift behind him, as though not knowing what to say now. Finally, she whispered, "I'll leave you be, Firestar. It is very late, and if you do have assigned Housefolk, they should be here tomorrow to pick you up."

 _Great._ Firestar growled silently to himself. _I'm back to being a kittypet._

Despite the medication pulling him towards sleep, Firestar found it hard to settle down.

His mind still swam with the faces of his Clanmates, and his stomach churned with frustration and worry. How would Sandstorm react when she heard of his disappearance? He wondered. How would the Clan react to losing their leader so suddenly? Would StarClan tell Cinderpelt that he was still alive?

A new thought struck his mind, and he gritted his teeth. Graystripe would be the leader. Firestar knew that he had chosen Graystripe to be his deputy with the Clan's best interest in mind, and that Graystripe had lead the Clan before, but he wondered if his friend was truly ready to become the leader, especially in such hard times.

He doubted that his friend would fully accept the position if there was still a chance of him being alive, but he wondered how Graystripe would handle the pressure of the situation they were in now. Sometimes Firestar had felt that he couldn't handle it. The pressure of keeping his Clan alive through the starvation, while watching their territory be destroyed and waiting for the other Clans to agree to leave was a lot at times.

Firestar's mind raced with confusing thoughts and questions, but as he laid there in the quiet and dark surroundings, he quickly found himself being pulled back into unconsciousness from the medication once more. He welcomed it.

 **Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows so far. I do plan to post chapters in Firestar's view every now and then, but they're going to be pretty scattered throughout for a while. Until we get farther into the story, Firestar's chapters will only appear occasionally, and the story will focus mostly on Graystripe and the Clans.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Who's going to be deputy now?"

Ashfur's question broke through Graystripe's swirling thoughts. A shudder went through him as he was brought back to the present, and he looked around at the shocked and grieving Clan. They were all watching him, and he felt a shudder go through him as he stared back. Their pelts stuck to their sides in the rain with their frames so underfed that their ribs showed. Their tails were trailing in the dirt with ever-growing exhaustion and grief.

Half of these cats looked as though StarClan could take them at any moment. _StarClan,_ he thought, _how can I lead these cats when I, myself, want to leave?_ For moons now, as he watched the forest become destroyed and the Twolegs take over, he wanted to leave. He wanted to take his Clanmates and escape the destruction, and he knew many of his Clanmates felt the same way.

If it hadn't been for Firestar insisting that they waited for the other three Clans, Graystripe knew that many of these cats would have left by now. So many cats had relied heavily on Firestar to pull them through the pain and suffering, but now he was gone.

Now it's was _his_ turn to stand up and lead the Clan. Just the thought of it alone felt daunting. Graystripe's jaw tightened. He was the _deputy,_ he thought, not the leader. He never wanted to be the leader of ThunderClan.

But he had been before, hadn't he? Memories of leading ThunderClan to Gatherings while Firestar was away reviving SkyClan rose in his mind. He had dealt with the responsibility of being the leader then, so he could do it again now. Though, admittedly, they weren't in the middle of leaf-bare while the forest was being uprooted around them last time…

"Well, Graystripe?" Mousefur's impatient spoke to his right. Her tail lashed as she watched him expectantly.

 _Please StarClan,_ he begged as his gaze swept around the staring, anxious Clan once more. His heartbeat rose in his throat, and all he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears. _Bring Firestar back, and soon._

But then Sandstorm was at his side, and it was as though his panicked thoughts were suppressed at once. The she-cat brushed his fur supportively as she came to stand beside him.

"Firestar will return to ThunderClan," her mew was strong now as she addressed her Clan, and the grief in her eyes had lessened. "He would do anything for his Clan, and he will do the same to find us again. We must believe that he will return."

Graystripe took a shaky, calming breath and nodded. "Yes," he agreed in the most steady voice he could muster, "Firestar will return, and until then I will take over in his position."

"Who knows when that'll be though?" Mousefur sounded doubtful. "What will we do until then?"

Dustpelt stood now and padded forward. "We carry on as normal," he said with a nod. "Whether Firestar is in camp or not, we still carry out patrols." He turned and looked at Brackenfur, "You were going to take a hunting patrol out by the training hollow, weren't you?"

The golden warrior squared his shoulders at being addressed. "Yes, that's right." He looked around at the gathered cats and called some to join him. "Rainwhisker, Mousefur, and Spiderpaw, you can come with me."

Thankful for the escape, Graystripe turned and dropped down from the boulders while his Clanmates were distracted with forming patrols. He felt lightheaded and all he wanted to do was find a semi-dry nest under the overhanging rock and be alone. He had only taken a few steps forward when Cinderpelt dropped down to confront him though. Sandstorm and Dustpelt were right behind her.

Graystripe sighed, not wanting to speak with them at the moment. He climbed into his nest and turned to acknowledge them tiredly. There was an uncomfortable silence for a long moment, in which no one wanted to be the first to speak. He watched over Cinderpelt's shoulder as Brackenfur lead his patrol off in the direction of the training hollow. Spiderpaw hissed quietly as a fat raindrop fell from a tree and hit him directly on the nose.

Cinderpelt opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off sharply. New questions had begun to race through his mind and he wanted to ask them aloud. "What will the other Clans think?" He demanded. "What will Blackstar say when he sees that ThunderClan doesn't have a leader?"

Cinderpelt's gaze softened. She shuffled under the low overhang, and when she was fully out of the rain, she crouched at the edge of his nest. "Maybe then he'll see reason." She mused, "Losing a leader would certainly scare the others into agreeing to leave."

"We shouldn't have to lose a leader for the Clans to see that our life in the forest is over," Dustpelt grunted, striding forward to shelter under the overhang as well.

"StarClan's word should have been enough," Cinderpelt agreed quietly. Her ear twitched as they heard more patrols being sent out above them.

"But if we leave," Graystripe pressed on, "How will Firestar find us? The whole forest might be gone by the time he arrives."

"You don't give that furball enough credit." Sandstorm purred weakly, though she looked exhausted now. "Did you forget everything you and Firestar did as warriors? How many times did the two of your break the code for the better of the Clans? Firestar will do anything to reach us again, no matter where we are."

There was a long silence between them again. Cinderpelt shifted uneasily, then spoke, "We are all here for you, Graystripe. Leading a Clan is a big responsibility, but I don't want you to feel alone."

"We did not lose a leader today," Dustpelt agreed with a nod. "He just went on another one of his life-threatening, mouse-brained journeys that'll likely take moons. But Firestar is Firestar. He'll make his way back."

Cinderpelt nodded, "I'm not making you take nine lives." She told him seriously, "I want Firestar back as much as the next cat, but until he returns, I _will_ make you uphold your commitment as deputy. ThunderClan needs the stability."

"I know." Graystripe sighed and hauled himself to his paws now. With Cinderpelt, Sandstorm, and Dustpelt by his side, he felt marginally better about his new position in the Clan, but he still felt the daunting weight of the starving Clan on his shoulders. "Thank you," he told them with a grateful dip of his head.

He stepped out of the nest and brushed past them, "I think I'm going to go out on patrol."

"I'll join you." Dustpelt offered and together they leaped up onto the boulders to gather a patrol from the remaining cats.


	5. Chapter 5

A mournful yowl woke Graystripe the next day. He stood quickly, his startled eyes scanning his surroundings. It was early morning still, and his breath billowed in front of him as he stepped out of his nest and away from his rising Clanmates, who had also been awoken by the cry.

"Was that Ferncloud?" Rainwhisker mumbled, still half asleep in his nest.

Graystripe padded around the side of the boulders to see Dustpelt standing beside the roughly-made nursery. In the warrior's jaws hung a limp bundle of brown tabby fur, which Graystripe recognized at once. Hollykit.

Leafpaw raced over as Dustpelt silently padded away from the camp. "What happened?" She demanded.

"Hollykit is dead!" Ferncloud's whisper trembled with grief. She leaned over and nosed her remaining kits closer to her side. "Dustpelt's gone to bury her. I woke and she was cold. So cold! I licked her and licked her but she would not wake up."

Graystripe felt a deep sorrow rise in his throat. This was Ferncloud's second kit that she lost this moon. For a moment, he wanted to yowl aloud too. How could StarClan do this? How could _he_ do this? It was his first day of being fully in charge of ThunderClan, and he was already losing cats to the cold and hunger.

His mouth felt dry, and he backed away as cats began to gather around Ferncloud respectfully. Cinderpelt ordered Leafpaw to collect poppy seeds, and Mousefur was commenting quietly on the cold that had gripped them all in the night. Brambleclaw whispered about how the Clans must leave the territory soon.

But Graystripe hardly heard any of this. His head seemed to swirl with repetitive, worrying thoughts, and it took him several heartbeats to realize that someone was speaking to him.

"Graystripe? Are you okay?"

He blinked at the words, "What?" he asked and saw that Sandstorm was beside him once more. "Oh, yes." he sighed, and shook his head to clear his confusing thoughts. "I'm fine."

She looked doubtful, but Graystripe did not want to hear what she had to say. Instead of giving her time to speak, he strode forward. Leafpaw was crouched beside Ferncloud now, and the queen was lapping up a couple poppy seeds without complaint. A young tabby kittypet was crouched beside them.

"That's right, Ferncloud. The herbs will make you feel better soon." The kittypet promised softly.

Graystripe spotted Cinderpelt standing a few tail-lengths away, and he padded over to speak with her. "Will Ferncloud be okay?" He asked the medicine cat. He couldn't imagine losing both of his kits in the same moon. The image of Feathertail appeared in his mind and grief of his own began to rise. The silver tabby had died on their journey back from the sun-drown-place. He remembered speaking with Stormfur as his son shared the terrible news.

"She just needs rest." Cinderpelt did not look at him. She was watching the small, singular kit that remained at Ferncloud's belly. The pale kit had awoken and was pawing at her belly in search of milk. "But Birchkit is strong. I believe he will survive."

"That's good." Graystripe sighed. He watched as Leafpaw and the kittypet finished tending to the now sleepy Ferncloud, and they turned to pad over to him and Cinderpelt. He tilted his head as they approached.

"You were with the patrol that returned to camp yesterday, weren't you?" Graystripe asked the she-cat politely. "I am Graystripe. I am in charge of the Clan while Firestar is away."

The tabby dipped her head in a respectful gesture and Graystripe thought she was brave to address him. Or was it that she simply didn't understand Clan customs and his position of authority? "Yes. My name is Cody. I became Leafpaw's friend while we were trapped together in that Housefolk nest."

"Well, you are welcome to stay with the Clan until we can return you home," Graystripe told her, though his tail twitched with the thought of having another mouth to feed. His stomach twisted with nervousness at how the Clan may react to the decision. Firestar would have let her stay, wouldn't he? "As you can see though, ThunderClan is not in the best of conditions…"

Cody blinked in understanding, "I promise I won't eat much. You have many cats to look after. Is there any way I can help?"

"Thank you," Cinderpelt touched her nose to the kittypet's shoulder gratefully. "If you want to help, could you stay by Ferncloud's side for a while? I'm sure she'll appreciate the company."

"Of course." Cody glanced over her shoulder at the grieving queen. "There are many queens in the Twoleg Place that have their kits taken from them at a young age. I am sure I can offer her some guidance."

"She would appreciate that." Cinderpelt purred softly. "Please, come and get me if Ferncloud grows more distressed."

Cody nodded and padded back over to Ferncloud. Graystripe watched quietly as the kittypet curled up beside the queen and took Birchkit to groom gently. Ferncloud watched through tired, half-lidded eyes, but did not complain.

Graystripe turned away when he was sure the queen would be alright, but stopped in his tracks when he saw that Brackenfur was already busy sending out patrols with the warriors gathered around him. For a few heartbeats, Graystripe felt awkward and lost standing there. He had nothing to do if Brackenfur had stepped up to take care of patrols. Should he say something?

But then he caught sight of Dustpelt. The brown warrior was emerging from the undergrowth and striding into camp with a hardened look in his eyes. He padded towards Graystripe and asked him, "May I speak with you alone?"

Surprised, Graystripe nodded. He had expected the tom to be grieving for the next few days. Where had this energy come from? "Of course." He stood up and allowed Dustpelt to lead him a short way into the forest. As Graystripe settled down offside of a well-used path, Dustpelt paced back and forth in front of him.

"Listen, Graystripe." He started, with a deep breath. "I know that you don't want to be leader, but you're in charge until Firestar returns."

"I know," Graystripe grunted. Did Dustpelt pull him aside just to lecture him about his responsibilities? He was well aware that he was in charge, even he didn't want to be.

"So I think you should start making decisions." Dustpelt continued, stopping his pacing to face the deputy, though his paws still worked anxiously on the ground. "Hollykit was a sign from StarClan. StarClan is telling ThunderClan that we must leave or perish. We will all die like Hollykit did today if we don't leave soon."

Graystripe looked at the warrior's thin pelt. Dustpelt was grieving the loss of two kits, he knew, and only Cinderpelt could truly understand StarClan's messages. "But Firestar wanted to wait for the other Clans to agree. He wanted to-"

"This isn't about what Firestar wants," Dustpelt interrupted. "This is about the survival of ThunderClan. How many more cats must die before we leave? Brambleclaw's message from StarClan should have been enough."

Graystripe allowed an uncomfortable silence to grow between them both. As Dustpelt's fur began to lie flat again, Graystripe told him with a strained voice, "Believe me when I say that I want to leave too, Dustpelt. But Firestar wanted all of the Clans to journey together, and I will follow through with that decision. Soon ShadowClan and RiverClan will grow hungry too." He hesitated briefly, "But if they don't agree to come in the next moon… then I'll take ThunderClan and we will leave."

"We might not have a moon." Dustpelt disagreed.

Graystripe stood and padded back in the direction of the camp. He did not want to speak with Dustpelt any further. All he wanted to do was go hunting and get his mind off the fact that he was now the one solely in charge of all these cats, and that they were dying around him.


End file.
